Month: July 2017

T-Bones fall short in comeback attempt

The Kansas City T-Bones fell short, 6-5, after trailing the Lincoln Saltdogs 4-0 early on Tuesday night at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.

After going 3-3 on a six game road trip, the T-Bones returned home to CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas City, Kansas, on Tuesday night to take on the Lincoln Saltdogs. The Saltdogs immediately took control of the game with a four run first inning.

Second baseman Cesar Valera started the night off with a bang with a three-run home run to put the Saltdogs up 3-0. Nathaniel Maggio, Lincoln’s first baseman, doubled to left field to bring in designated hitter, Curt Smith, for the final run of the inning.

The T-Bones started to chip away at the Saltdogs’ lead in the third inning with second baseman Marcus Lemon’s RBI single scoring right fielder Chantz Mack. Kansas City trailed 4-1 going into the fourth inning.

Mack brought in two runs in the fourth inning off of an RBI double to center field to cut Lincoln’s lead to 4-3, but the Saltdogs took back a three-run lead in the fifth.

Valera doubled to center field to bring in the first run, while left fielder Brandon Jacobs singled to right field to bring in the second.

A solo home run from third baseman, Jordan Edgerton, in the bottom of the sixth brought the T-Bones within two with three innings to go.

Marcus Lemon, the T-Bones second baseman, advanced the runners with a putout in the bottom of the ninth to put them in scoring position.

American Association home run leader and Kansas City first baseman Kevin Keyes brought in one run with a sacrifice fly to the center fielder. The T-Bones didn’t come back any further and fell 6-5 to the Saltdogs in game one of a three game series.

Right-handed pitcher Derek Gordon (5-2, 2.67) earned the win for the Saltdogs, and the T-Bones’ right-handed pitcher Scott Carroll (5-3, 2.86) suffered the loss. Michael Wagner, a right-handed pitcher, picked up the save for Lincoln.

Matt Sergey (2-1, 3.44), a right-handed pitcher, will start Wednesday night for the T-Bones and right-handed pitcher Robby Rowland (1-1, 5.40) will head to the mound for Lincoln.

The T-Bones (31-24) will continue a 10 game homestand at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday against the Lincoln Saltdogs (35-21) at CommunityAmerica Ballpark. Fans can come out to enjoy a game of catch on the field after the game.

Tickets are available online, by calling 913-328-5618 or by visiting in person the Providence Medical Center Box Office.
– Story from T-Bones

Senator Moran cheered and jeered in Kansas for evolving positions on Obamacare repeal

by Jim McLean, Kansas News Service

For a public official unaccustomed to the limelight, U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran can’t seem to avoid it when it comes to the national health care debate.

Moran’s Monday night tweet announcing his opposition to the latest Republican health bill triggered “breaking news” alerts on cable news channels.

And it briefly won him praise from the demonstrators who stage weekly protests outside his Olathe office. They cheered when Leslie Mark, an organizer for Indivisible KC, picked up a bullhorn and shouted “Thank you Senator Jerry Moran,” to kick off Tuesday’s event.

Several carried makeshift signs thanking Moran for standing firm against the Affordable Care Act replacement bill that Republican leaders were attempting to push through the Senate.

But the celebratory mood evaporated just minutes later when news spread through the crowd that Moran had committed to support McConnell’s effort to move another bill forward, one that would immediately repeal Obamacare but not replace it.

“So, that was the deal he cut with leader McConnell,” Mark said in confirming the news. “You kind of knew there had to be something, right? “So, the pressure is important and we’re going to step it up.”

Moran said in a statement released by his office Tuesday that while he doesn’t support either version of the Senate’s Obamacare replacement bill he continues to favor repealing the law.

“I will vote in favor of the motion to proceed,” Moran said, referring to McConnell’s plan to force a Senate vote on the repeal bill.

“This should be followed by an open legislative process to craft health care policy that will provide great personal choice, protections for pre-existing conditions, increased access and lower overall costs for Kansans,” he said.

In an earlier statement that accompanied his Monday night tweet, Moran said the GOP Obamacare replacement bill written behind closed doors with the help of select lobbyists didn’t meet any of his stated objectives.

“We should not put our stamp of approval on bad policy,” he said.

Mark Read, of the Mainstream Coalition, traveled hundreds of miles to attend all of the town hall meetings that Moran held in western Kansas over Congress’ July 4 recess. At one point, Read said, Moran jokingly referred to him as his “groupie.”

The conversation turned more serious after the final meeting, Read said.

“He (Moran) said you have no idea how much pressure I’m under from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell,” Read recounted. “But as you see today there is an opposing force to try to help him stay on a righteous path.”

Read said he believes Moran has taken a principled stand against the GOP health bills, not a political one.

“He’s really stepped out and supported, not just Kansas, but 50 other states and 25 million people,” Read said. “On this issue, I think he’s going to do the right thing.”

However, Moran may not be put to the test on a repeal-only bill. Three GOP senators – Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Shelly More Capito of West Virginia – said Tuesday they were opposed to repealing Obamacare without a plan to replace it.

With no Democratic support for repealing the ACA, McConnell can afford to lose only two Republican votes.

Jim McLean is managing director of the Kansas News Service, a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio and KMUW covering health, education and politics. You can reach him on Twitter @jmcleanks. Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished at no cost with proper attribution and a link back to kcur.org.

See more at http://kcur.org/post/senator-moran-cheered-and-jeered-kansas-evolving-positions-obamacare-repeal.